Restart
by Kitten1313
Summary: For Alfred video games make up a huge part of his life. A fun past time until he's the one trapped forced to make the same decisions over and over again. While he's not alone he's not exactly sure he can trust the other man trapped with him. (Oneshot)


**A/N: So this is written for Writers Anonymous 'Locked in a Room' Challenge. Hopefully ya'll enjoy**

Restart, something we've all done when playing a game right? Hey you messed up, oh shit you died, damn not the Pokémon you wanted. Hey no big thing, just quit and start a new game. A fresh start well...that's what I always thought anyway. I mean I've played hundreds over the past few decades and I have every cheat code and pattern down to near perfection. Thousands of hours spent for a few minutes of satisfaction before I started all over again. But nothing could prepare me for would happen, when given the chance to live the way my avatars do constantly trapped to look for the Princess in yet another castle.

Then again it wouldn't be a princess this hero would need to save but I'm really getting ahead of myself. So let me start at the beginning and maybe, just maybe you'll believe me.

When I woke up I had no idea what had happened. It wasn't aliens or at least any I was familiar with and I knew it wasn't my government simply because, I didn't feel hung over. Though I still wouldn't put it past them after what they did to me back in the sixties. Really I just felt numb, with everything muscle refusing to move so I laid there looking up at the ceiling thinking of the events just before everything went white.

I could hear the conversation playing in my head, Arthur in his judgmental tone just hours before saying, "Alfred, you bloody idiot stop staring mindlessly at that god damn game and do something productive." I had invited him over for the weekend and since Mattie wasn't due to arrive in a few hours I thought I'd catch up on a few games I hadn't gotten to finish.

"Productive?" I answered back in my normally cheery voice not once looking up from the screen. "How is saving these high school kids from twisted wendigo things not productive? I'm the hero after all."

With that he ripped the controller from my hands as he turned off my TV. "You don't even know what a wendigo is so," He stopped as I stood up, instantly towering over him.

"A Wendigo is a carnivorous spirit that lived off of the flesh of humans. My people feared it for hundreds of years since it was never satisfied...it was always hungry."

My tone must have startled him because he took a small step back as he stared at me. It only lasted a second before he answered with one of his smirks. "Much like you. Now go out and see your whale or your poor Unicorn. I bet you haven't fed them in days."

It's the last thing I could remember before waking up in the room I was in. Room though isn't the right word; it was more like a prison without the nice iron bars on the windows. Two beds sat on opposite wall with a computer that seemed to have come out of the mid-nineties sitting on a single metal desk right next to the metal locked door. What else is in the room I had no idea since I didn't dare leave my bed since I noticed my roommate...

Now he wasn't a ghost but, he sure as hell wasn't human either. While I'm sure he was asleep I couldn't move as the skeleton shifted slightly before rolling away from me. He was a large man despite being clearly made of bones or maybe it's just the thick blue hoodie he was wearing. Either way my legs wouldn't move for what feels like hours until finally he rolled back towards me and, I don't know how but opened his eyes. "Hey," he said in a deep groggy voice.

"Hi," I forced out pressing my back to the wall behind me.

Apparently the look of terror on my face was amusing. "You act like I'm going to bite you or something," he said as he sat up and stretched. Once he heard a few cracks he spoke again. "So is the door locked?"

Even though I didn't check it was as if I already knew the answer. "Yeah," I said carefully moving towards the edge of the bed. Sure I didn't trust him but, I couldn't just curl up in the corner I mean I'm America after all and what would the others have thought?

"Hey Kiddo you listening?"

"What?" I answered realizing I had spaced out for a moment.

"I asked if you tried the door." He tried the knob a few times before sighing. "And me without my skeleton key." It was as if he was joking. "Oh well not much I can do except catch up on my Zs." It came with a shrug before the computer started to beep.

"Welcome," it said in a warm sexual voice that would put Siri to shame. "I'm glad you're both awake."

I wasn't sure what to say. The thing shouldn't have been able to play Oregon trail much less speak and from the way my companion was staring at it, he was thinking the same things. "So," He started as he crammed his hands into his pockets. "Are you going to tell us why we're here? Because I have a lot of work to get done."

"Yes Sans I know," she answered, "A skeleton."

"Hey that was my line."

If she could have smiled she would have been grinning ear to ear. "Oh was it now? And what about you, Mr. Hero? Aren't you the least bit curious as to why you're here?"

"Uh," I said standing up from my bed. "I guess. I mean it's not the first time I've woken up in a strange bed with no idea how I've gotten there. Though normally it's next to someone alive."

"Normally?" Sans looked up at me with a halfhearted smile. He could tell I was toying with it and was willing to play along.

I shrugged as the computer laughed. "Your spy games were never that good America. But if it makes you feel better than okay."

"And I'd like to call you Karen if that's okay." I muttered under my breath, crossing my arms over my chest. "So why are we here?"

"To play a little game."

This only got a yawn from the skeleton. "I already have my 'little' game."

She continued as Sans sat back down. "It's easy really all you have to do is decide who lives and who dies." It was said so easily it didn't feel real. "I'm sure you know the Prisoner's dilemma? If not well I'll explain. On either side of you are two rooms with two other teams inside. You can either choose to cooperate with both teams or to throw them to the wolves as a matter of speaking."

"This might be a bit marrow minded but what if we don't pick?" I turned around to see him lying back on his bed nearly asleep again. "Not much you can really do and I'd only have to wait a few hours anyway."

"Not much I can do but if you don't pick in two hours well the game will reset and, all the teams will have to pick again." While her voice seemed sweet there was a hint of malice. "Sorry to burst your little bubble."

"Nothing I'm not use to." Again he didn't sound phased at all. "So go on and pick kid."

"You don't want to talk this over?" I asked confused as the computer screen changed to show our two choices. "If she's telling the truth it could kill someone."

His left eye closed slightly. "Nah it really doesn't matter in the end."

"Doesn't matter?" I repeated. "Dude it could kill someone."

"Only if you believe her."

"So we just assume she's lying?"

At that he sighed. "Look if you don't have the guts then I'll have to be the one to grow a spine here." As he said it he forced himself up from his spot. "Betray them. That way we'll 'win' if they spared us and it protects us if they decided to be boneheads."

To him it was an easy answer but to me I wasn't so sure. "It doesn't feel right though."

"Not every answer does. Trust me I've been around enough to know."

My eyes narrowed. "Yeah and so have I." He wasn't swayed so I tried another tactic though I wasn't sure why I was arguing in the first place. "Look what if it was your brother in one of those rooms? Would you say the same thing?"

He didn't say anything for a long time, just staring at me with those eyes. "Alfred, press the button."

It might have been his blank eyes or his eerie tone but, either way in that moment I nearly pissed myself. "How do you know my name?"

"Because this is our twentieth time playing this." He said sliding off the bed seemingly annoyed at me. "We tried it your way but I'm T boned off now and I'm done playing games."

I wanted to shake my head and tell him he was lying but deep down I knew he wasn't bullshitting me. "Dude..." My mouth finally managed to spit out. "We can't-"

"Can't? Look you don't clearly get it. You're new at this but take it from a pro that there's no point. Save them, kill them. In the end it'll all restart and we're back at square one with nothing but a faint memory of déjà vu." As he spoke he moved to the computer. "You're a good kid but, this time I'm choosing since there's only one option we haven't tried yet." Just as he went to press the arrow key I grabbed his wrist. It was strangely warm but I didn't dare let go even as his right eye started to glow a bright blue. "You're about to have a bad time if you don't let go."

I held on tighter. "And you're about to have a broken wrist if you don't move your hand."

"You don't have the guts," he said as he winced. I wasn't squeezing hard but, just enough to show I meant business. "Okay maybe you do."

"I just want to talk for a second then we can decide together." As I said it I had the strangest feeling like I had said it before. "Wait..."

In that moment I let go. "Feel it don't you? Like I said we've had this talk eleven other times and we don't get anywhere before our time is up."

It made sense an odd kind of sense but still. I mean I don't go around nearly breaking everyone's arms to get what I want unless everything else has failed. "So we've done this...then what if we."

He stops me. "We've done it the other times. The only way out is to betray them." He was admit about this so while it didn't feel right I let him press the button. "It'll only hurt for a second."

"Yeah..." I muttered as a sudden burst of energy hit me square in the chest, knocking the breath out of me like I was just hit by something going Mach one. "Damn it someone get the plate of that truck..."

"That rattled me to the bone too..." He answered from his spot next to me on the floor. "But..." His gaze turned to the door.

Slowly I looked over to see the door still closed tightly. "The fuck?"

"Yeah I was thinking the same thing." He picked himself off of the floor before reaching for the doorknob. "It's still locked."

"Of course it's still locked we have a few more rounds to play." The computer said in its sweet voice that I was growing to hate. "So again."

"Hold up," I said standing up. "You didn't say shit about another round of games. We played so we go home." I sat down so I was face to face with my reflection in the screen. "So we're leaving Karen."

She paused for a moment before speaking. "You aren't in any position to order me around but if you'd rather we could play a different game." I watched in horror as the screen morphed and before me I saw my brothers lying on two makeshift beds with blood pooling below them. "What was it that you said?"

"You little bitch." I spat out under my breath knowing instantly what she was going to say.

"They're both very important to-" She didn't have a chance to finish since at that moment I sent my fist right into the screen. "Error!" It screamed out as an alarm started to go off.

"Well we're boned now." Sans said as he shook his head.

I removed my hand as I slid away from the broken machine. "Well she shouldn't have taunted me."

"That was the point." He said as the lights above us when out, leaving us alone in complete darkness. "Her job was to get you as pissed off as she could before you snapped."

"Oh sure you fucking tell me that now."

"I didn't exactly have time to tell you before you killed her this time." He let out a sigh and from the sounds I heard after he sat down on his bed. "But since we might actually die this time...who were they?"

I could have lied but I didn't see the point. "They're my brothers." I leaned back in the chair looking above me. "It was a stupid little game someone had made...but it haunts me to think..."

"They could have died?"

"And there would have been nothing I could do to stop it," I said feeling stupid to think I let a game I never actually played get to me so badly. "I've never been good with death so a game centered around it was just too twisted."

"Who is kid?" He said with a slight chuckle. "It's part of life and it always will be."

I looked over seeing his shape in the darkness. "Yeah I know..." His eye was the only thing I could see as it started to glow the light blue again. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to see you better."

"Yeah well your creep meter just jumped." I turned my back to him so I was facing where the door should have been. Really I was surprised they were taking this long to kill us or at least turn the lights back on unless they were waiting for us to kill each other.

Maybe that's what I was waiting for too. For him to sneak up behind me and try to attack me, though I would have had him on the floor in seconds. "So if given the chance," he said still on the bed from what I could hear. "What would you be?"

"This a new game?"

"Just a question from a curious skeleton."

"Sure it is." I answered looking down at my feet. I was tired of everything and maybe Sans had the right idea of just sleeping this 'round' away. "Human," I answered realizing he was still waiting for an answer.

"Funny I thought you were."

"Nope I only play one on TV." I answered as he chuckled. "So what about you?"

He stood up. "Not going to tell you. I got to keep some mystery don't I?"

"I guess." I watched him go to the door. "Now what are you doing?"

Slowly he touched it. "So if it's not determination what gives you your strength?" It was an odd question even among the other questions asked.

"Freedom." I answered with a coy smile. It was a joke only I'd get but I had an idea what he was thinking. "Think I can force it open?"

"Worth a shot I guess." We didn't have anything else to do so I grabbed the handle and rested my shoulder on the door. "You might want to step back." To my surprise he stood behind me. "Uh Sans?"

"Might as well try too." He said as he hit the door.

Quickly I joined him but the damn door wouldn't budge. "Shit," I said with a groan until after the sixth hit the door gave. I expected to see a hallway but instead there was only a blinding white light. "What is this?"

"Game over." Sans answered with a sigh of relief. "Can't believe it took us this long to knock the door down."

"Well we were following the rules I guess. One of those gaming things."

"Yeah it was in our programing. But, it was a nice break from my normal routine." He said with his normal smile. "Guess this is goodbye."

"So I won't see you again?"

"Oh don't get sentimental on me now. We'll see each other again." With that he shoved me into the light. "No bones about it."

Suddenly I was face to face with my TV screen again with my controller in my hand. "Alfred," I heard Arthur say as I tossed the controller to the side. "Given up?"

"Yeah dude I'm done." I answered feeling both exhausted and confused. "I'm uh going to go check on Ishmael and Virgil then catch a quick nap."

I could see it written all over his face but I didn't stick around long enough for him to ask. I'd let him chalk it up to gamer fatigue or me losing one of the characters. It wasn't just a twisted dream or me just zoning out. I was there, somewhere. "I've fucking lost my mind..." I muttered to myself as I rubbed the bridge of my nose. Even after an hour I still didn't understand where I was or who Sans was.

"Good to know we agree on something." My twin said behind me. "But think you can come back to sanity for a few minutes to check out a new game?"

"Only for you bro." I answered as he logged in and pulled up the game. It was cute, a simple style that reminded me of early Zelda. "Whoa this takes me back." I said as the character entered a snow covered area and there right before me was a skeleton in a hoodie looking right at the screen before winking.

I could hear him speaking in my ear. "I told yah kid didn't I?"

"Huh..." My brother said cocking his head slightly. "He's not supposed to do that yet."

I bit my lip. "Easter egg or glitch maybe..."

"Probably. I'll just restart it."

I grabbed the mouse. "Or we can play to the end." I must have sounded desperate because he looked at me like I had two heads. "Please?"

"Sure...I guess. You okay?"

As I pulled a chair over I nodded. "Yeah dude," I said, watching as Sans shook our character's hand. "Just fine." I would sit there for hours watching as the story unfolded before it came to an end. "That was pretty good."

"Yeah but there's more."

"More?"

Matthew nodded. "That was just one route. There's three endings but it means two more playthroughs."

"Huh," I said standing up and turning off the computer. "That's cool but one's good enough for me." I turned around heading up to my bedroom. "Let's just leave it at the happy ending okay?"

"You sure?'

"Positive."


End file.
